Veracity's dads grounded her big time for that house party she accidentally hosted last week.

Even after she'd cleaned up all the toilet paper streamers and crushed chips that littered the floors, she couldn't explain the ripped clothes and broken lamps with any better excuse than the truth. Two weeks with no computer and no phone. Her only freedom was school, and even that was limited to 3:15 when she was expected to report home instead of staying after for some clubs like chess or robotics.

That was exactly why she had arrived to school the next day in such a sour mood. She had purposely worn her comfiest, least-amount-of-effort-as-possible clothes, a pair of black sweats, a T shirt from the middle school academic team regional competition, and her gray house slippers. Normally, Veracity was against looking so unkempt, but she had to admit she felt more at ease in her loose pants and fuzzy shoes.

Veracity arrived at school around 7:30. She brooded over the idea of seeing those good for nothing varsity jerks again. The moment she saw Wade, ooh, she was gonna give him a piece of her mind!

One thing she enjoyed about arriving so early was the near emptiness in the cafeteria. She usually looked forward to basking in the silence and sticking her nose in a book until school started. Veracity strolled through the front doors and gazed around, looking for a place to sit. It still felt strange entering this cafeteria instead of her old school's, but she was readily adjusting. Everything about East Bay City High was so much larger and modern. She may be one of the few who didn't mind watching Mech-X4 blow up the school.

A familiar face caught her eye and she found herself walking toward him. She hadn't intended on talking to him, but he clearly had something she wanted.

"Hey," she greeted, taking a seat across from him.

Spyder acknowledged her with a nod, lips pressed together as his mouth was full of food. He had a bag of Chips Ahoy in front of him, the top peeled back to reveal three rows of fresh crunchy cookies. In his hand was a blue transparent water bottle filled to the brim with milk. Veracity glanced over his choice of breakfast, wondering what was going through this kid's head.

"Are you okay?" he wondered, eyeing her suspiciously. "I mean, you never talk to me. Ever."

"I've never seen you here this early."

Spyder shrugged, gaze falling to his bag of cookies. "I heard a rumor people get here this early. I wanted to see if it was true."

Veracity snickered. "Yeah. This time slot is usually reserved for nerds and kids whose parents work super early."

"I'm neither. Just wanted to get here early."

She frowned. There was something different about this kid. He wasn't as upbeat and talkative as he had been the night before.

Spyder pushed the bag of cookies across the table. "Want one?" he offered.

Veracity pretended to consider the treats for a moment before snatching a couple. Spyder bit back a smirk, knowing full well that that was probably the main reason she sat with him.

"So, do you usually eat this for breakfast or…?" Veracity didn't want to make any assumptions, but she wondered if she'd have to tell Harris later to teach this kid what a food triangle is.

"Nah," Spyder answered, shaking his head. "I'm in a mood, so I wanted some cookies. You seem like you're in a mood, too."

Veracity munched on her cookie, glancing at the breakfast line as she considered buying a carton of milk. "My dads grounded me for two weeks 'cause of that party, and it wasn't even my fault!"

"That's harsh," Spyder said, scrunching his nose. "Did you tell them what happened?"

"No," she sighed. "I don't need any reason for those neanderthals to hate me. I'm a nobody to them." Spyder noticed her shoulder slump a bit. "And that's how I want it to stay."

He didn't know what to say to that. Spyder was never really great at comforting people. Instead, he wordlessly pushed the bag of cookies toward her again. Spyder shrugged when she glanced at him questionably. After a moment, she seemed to understand and grabbed another cookie.

"Why are you in a mood?" she wondered.

Spyder shook his head, brushing the crumbs off his fingers. "I can't really explain… you wouldn't get it."

Veracity narrowed her eyes. "Try me," she challenged.

He looked at her for a moment. Then, "So, I'm part of this team, right? It's a team for, uh, well, robotics is a thing, right? It's a robotics team."

"You're on a robotics team?"

"Don't sound so surprised," he snapped. She blinked, surprised by his tone. Spyder sighed, softly explaining, "Sorry, I didn't… Sorry. Anyways, okay, yeah, I'm on a robotics team. It's not through the school though so don't go asking around for it." Veracity thought it was a bit odd how quickly he added that in, but she let it go. "And like, I don't really have an important part on the team. I mean, well, I guess I do, but really anyone can play that part. And the leader of the team—er no, wait, not the leader, the adult slash mechanic slash Guy-Who-Knows-The-Most-About-This just doesn't think I'm a valuable member of the team. He thinks I'm useless and he basically told me that night and, well, yeah. I'm in the mood to eat cookies for breakfast."

Veracity opened her mouth, debated, closed her mouth. Repeat. She didn't really know how to respond to that. She hadn't known the kid long enough to argue whether he was a good asset to the team or not. Well, Veracity had witnessed enough to believe he wasn't the brains of the operation, but there was more to a robotics team than just the brains. She could picture him as being the ideas guy. Not a big, important role, but certainly one that matters.

They happened to make the perfect pair, oddly enough. Because she couldn't find the right words of comfort, she pushed the bag closer to him. They shared a moment of understanding. She smiled, lips pressed together in an encouraging way. He mirrored her, scooping out three more cookies.

•••••

Whatever Veracity had sworn against at the beginning of the day went out the window just after lunch.

Spyder, Harris, and Ryan were at their lockers, chatting and wasting the last few minutes before they'd split up for fifth period. Veracity walked toward them as Wade and his group of jocks headed her way. They were engaged in their own conversation, reminiscing the memories of the party last night. Spyder couldn't hear exactly what was said, but one minute Veracity was minding her own business and the next, she was spinning around and storming after the crew.

It started off quiet, an exchange between Veracity and Wade that only they could hear. Then, Wade dragged his buddies into it. He raised his voice, pointed at the girl, and taunted her with jokes about her, her dumb glasses, her dads. And oh, that last comment really set her off. A quiet conversation turned into yelling, Veracity pulling insults from the scientific and sophisticated air that left the jocks perplexed and firing in defense with dumb comebacks that would've made Veracity scoff and roll her eyes on any other day if she wasn't so riled up.

Spyder contemplated running in and pulling her back as Harris and Ryan discussed it beside him. Before any could make a decision, the principal stormed onto the scene. His voice thundered over the teens, silencing them immediately. Veracity didn't even have a chance before there was a pink slip in her hand, sentencing her to after school detention. Wade and his friends walked away, a new victim for their taunts and mocks.

The bell rang and the hallway cleared out. Spyder lost Veracity immediately. He searched for a moment and came up blank. With a sigh, he turned and headed for his next class.

•••••

Veracity fidgeted in her seat. Detention was so bland and quiet, not the kind she was used to. The teacher glared over every student as though she were a warden in a juvenile facility. It made Veracity's skin crawl. Was this how it felt being a trouble maker? Locked down and watched like a caged animal? She didn't like it one bit.

The door opened and Spyder walked in. He hugged his jacket to his chest and smiled sheepishly at the teacher, apologizing, "Sorry, I got lost."

"Just take a seat," the woman snapped.

Spyder slid into the chair next to Veracity. He laid his jacket on the desk and Veracity frowned at the sound emitting from under his jacket. As he laid his backpack next to his chair, she lifted his jacket and peered underneath.

Veracity snorted. She slapped her hands over his mouth, hoping to muffle the noise. The freshmen glanced at the teacher nervously. The teacher was now too engrossed in a book.

"Are you serious?" Veracity whispered so quietly that some of her words didn't make a sound.

He shrugged. "You look like you need a cookie."

She smiled and shook her head. This kid was something else, really.

Spyder peeled back the top of the bag ever so slowly, wincing every time there was a crinkle in the covering. When it was halfway open, they each grabbed a cookie.

From then on, there was a sort of alliance between them. One where they were free to talk about their problems and the other wouldn't judge. It was a strange relationship considering how incredibly different they were. One was highly intelligent and mature, ready to take on the world. The only was smart in his own way and silly, ready to kick back with a good video game and maybe take on the world some other day, if he feels like it.

Oddly enough, they seemed to fit.

And all it took was a cookie or two.

It's nearly 3 am. I don't know what this is, really. I was literally eating a bag of Chips Ahoy and just thought of this? I… Clearly need more sleep or something.

I'm actually pretty happy with how this turned out, though.

I don't ship these two, but I like the idea of them having more of a sibling type relationship. Actually no, I love the idea. I hope they get more screen time together! Anyways, yeah, I'm heading to bed. Leave a review and thanks for reading! :)